Tyler and Mikayla's Woodland Glasshaus Wedding

I’m not a writer, but Tyler is. Wedding photography isn’t an art form, so I don’t really call myself an artist (unless referring to more creative forms of photography and painting) but, Mikayla is. During our first meeting, I knew these two were going to care about photography and their wedding more than most might, which made it incredibly humbling to be invited to document it. They were very interested in having me use film, which excited me even more. Over time, plans changed with the wedding location, and more details were finalized. Soon enough, it was time to celebrate. There was so much beauty surrounding us that day. Many thanks to everyone involved in making this day happen, from the other vendors, to the wedding party and family. I typically come to serve on a wedding day, but I was out done by family and friends as I was cared for from the start on what ended up being a hot, June day. Here’s what I saw…

I built a darkroom.

I’ve been using film and more specifically, b/w film for YEARS. I used b/w film in my high school darkroom and for many years before digital photography took over the scene, then later revisited film use professionally around 2010 and haven’t looked back. It wasn’t until recently, however, that I built my own darkroom and started spending time re-familiarizing myself with the printing process and now handling the process of shooting b/w film, developing it, and producing a final print all myself, without the need of a computer or anything digital interfering with the final product/print. It’s taken years to get to this point, but it feels completely like home. And it’s just the beginning…there are a lot of alternative processes I cannot wait to experiment with and rabbit holes to follow, all under this umbrella of darkroom work.

Here was the process of getting here…

I converted a small section of our utility room into my darkroom. It’s a small footprint (roughly 70 sqft), but maximizes every inch and is very effective. I built a 7ft long sink out of plywood and epoxy, installed temp controlled and filtered water, had an electrician update the electrical and I installed IKEA cabinets and shelving for storage and organization. Along the way, I was gifted two amazing enlargers via craigslist finds and easels, negative holders, trays, timers and a bunch of other random stuff from National Camera Exchange visits or eBay purchases. The whole process has filled me with immense gratitude as the entire cost of this project was well below what I anticipated, which really helped when it came time to supply chemicals and paper, all of which have become somewhat expensive. Since these photos were taken, I’ve installed additional shelving and a dry desk, with inspection light, for prepping negatives and inspecting prints once they are dry. Future projects for the space will involve figuring out how to install the specialized print washers I recently picked up and possibly adding a table for a dry mount press. Thanks for following along!

Mother Co Plants Wedding in NE Minneapolis

Jeff and Rachel had a smallish, beautiful wedding at Mother Co Plants in NE Minneapolis earlier this Spring. It was such an honor witnessing their plans unfold that day and proof you don’t always need an enormous, elaborate event but simply do what works within your budget and desires. On a side note, Mother Co Plants had closed shop for events for a while, but I was excited to see them open back up for these, because they truly have a gorgeous space that works really well for a smaller wedding or photoshoot. Thanks for following, everyone. I really appreciate your support.